And now, it’s off to the islands! While I hail from the land of 10,000 lakes, Croatia has 1,244 “islands” (some are inlets or rock formations, and most are uninhabited), and they are quite impressive! First up on our Croatian Yacht Cruise adventure: Hvar!

Saturday, August 28

After our first sail, meal, and swim stop of the trip, we pulled in to Stari Grad, Hvar at sunset and it was absolutely stunning! We had the evening to explore before turning in for our first night on the yacht.

Stari Grad, Hvar

Stari Grad is a very old town (dating back to the 4th century B.C.) on the island of Hvar. In fact, the Stari Grad Plain is another one of Croatia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The well-protected bay is where we docked, and it’s a quaint little area along the water with little shops, restaurants and alleyways.

We were encouraged to walk the streets, and it was really nice exploring for a bit. I’d say if you’re not dining here for a full meal (or using it as a place to dock for the night like we did), an hour is plenty of time. It’s quite quaint and there’s really not much to do. Most of us agreed that the streets of Hvar town, which we went to the next morning, were much more beautiful and fun to explore. More of that below!

Pekara Mira (4.5/5)

We first stopped at a little corner spot with gelato, pastries and pizza. Hubby ordered a slice of Tomato & Cheese pizza for only about $2.50 USD equivalent. We were shocked to see that a single slice was actually a quarter of a pizza! The thin crust wasn’t too heavy for a late night snack, and the flavor was great! There is no website, but if you’re looking for it, it’s a little red building on the corner. When you approach, the first thing you’ll see is gelato and baked goods, but around the side, the window displays the pizza. There was a sign outside that said “fast food.”

Aroma Gelato Boutique (4/5)

There was a pretty good gelato shop a couple doors down from the pizza place: Aroma Gelato Boutique. I got an Affogato with vanilla and caramel gelato, and while it was incredibly delicious, it kept me up all night (as in, I finally fell asleep just before 3 am after laying there for 3 hours)! Would now be the right time to add that I don’t normally drink caffeine at all? My friend got the Mascarpone and Pistachio gelato and she enjoyed hers as well!

Then we grabbed a few drinks at a bar along the port before heading back to the yacht.

Note: we did see Konoba Zvijezda Mora and while we didn’t eat here (we weren’t hungry for a full dinner), I would have liked to try it. I am not sure of the quality of food or service, however if I were to select based on outdoor ambience alone, it would be my top pick in the area. We walked through the alley where this place was and I almost wanted to get something to eat just to spend more time in their beautiful setting.

Sunday. August 29

Beetle Tour (4/5)

This was a fun way to get from Stari Grad to Hvar Town and a beautiful day to have the tops down! For some, this would be super boring and a waste of time and money. But for the right group, it’s a good ol’ time! We divided up and chose our cars, ensuring we had one or two of us in each car that could drive a stick shift.

After driving up the hill in a cute little entourage, we stopped at Alavia to stretch our legs and get a beer or lemonade. The view from their property was absolutely stunning. There was also a woman with a little stand selling lavender and rosemary gifts.

Toward the end of the drive, we stopped at the Spanish Fortress, Tvrdava Fortica, and learned a little bit about the many islands of Croatia. The view of the archipelagos was great from this spot, and we could look down on where we were headed in Hvar Town right below us. We were told that this side of Hvar is also known for being a party port, and many celebrities are famed to visit this island. The day before we arrived, they had a few spottings of athletes and celebrities, including Michael Jordan!

It was also a fun place to take some photos in our little beetles.

After the drive, we spent some time on a walking tour of Hvar town. The history was interesting, but this is also when I discovered all the little shops and alleyways. Had we been given more time here, I probably could have spent hours strolling and shopping. Such cute little shops! (Why I don’t have any photos of them, I can’t explain…).

Hvar is well-known for their lavender fields, so make sure you pick up a lavender souvenir here. I grabbed some soap and oils and they were some of my favorite take-homes and gifts for loved ones.

We did not stay into the evening to party like the rest of Hvar… We left for Korcula in the afternoon, where we would enjoy dinner and dock for the night.

But first, a swim stop!

With the rain long gone and the sun out, this was a perfect afternoon for our swim stop. We dropped anchor in a beautiful inlet with some of the clearest blue-green water I’ve ever seen. Pretty much all of us jumped in! The water shoes came in super handy as we found rocks along the edge of the water to rest on. It’s so difficult to convey how amazing it was to be in this spot, so private for our group and so incredibly beautiful. The best I can show it is through the images from our friend Robert’s drone, which were truly spectacular!

Korčula

Our ship docked in Korčula for the night, so we were given all night to explore.

Our group had a brief walking tour through Old Town with a surprise performance by a small choir in a special acoustic spot at the Cathedral.

After the walk, we didn’t do much more exploring, as we had a very important reservation at a Michelin star-rated restaurant right around the corner!

LD Restaurant (4.5/5)

LD Restaurant was another spot on the list of must-try restaurants from our friends, and they coordinated a reservation for us in advance for our group of six. Actually, another 10 or so of our group ended up eating inside as well.

We were escorted to an outdoor table next to the water, just across from the restaurant entrance. A great spot for a sunset meal!

This time, we all planned to do the chef’s table tasting menu. It was $488 USD equivalent for the tasting menu + wine pairing for two (the dinner alone, without the wine pairing would have been about $200 less). And there was a LOT of wine. In fact, I didn’t finish all the glasses and auctioned them to the highest bidders at our table when the meal was over. 😉

The meal was slow and easy, which is one of the things I love about dining in Europe anyways. Each wine pour was explained and the food followed it shortly after.

Speaking of the food, it was unique, creative and very tasty. The steak was my least favorite of all of it, and it was really good, so that says something. I think it was my least favorite because it was the least creative and not quite as complex of flavors as the other dishes. In true Chef’s Table Tasting fashion, it was a fun treat to have the chef join us for a few minutes at the end of the meal.

A couple of the wines ended up being favorites of ours on the trip and we found them on our last day to bring home. A couple, including those that were from Korčula unfortunately, weren’t wines that we enjoyed.

Overall, the service staff were wonderfully attentive and knowledgeable, the food was unique and special, and we had such a special night with our friends!

We docked in Korčula for the evening and headed toward Mljet the next morning!

Until Mljet…

XO

J